Spot Conlon: I Love Him, I Love Him Not
by Spunkyy7
Summary: Alyssa only needed a job and place to stay. She never expected to fall in love. Especially with the famous leader of Brooklyn, Spot Conlon. After all, how could any one so mean and harsh love anyone, any way? Please R&R!
1. She Needs a Hero

CHAPTER 1:

Alyssa DeCardo wiped the tears from her eyes as she hurried down the dark street. It had been one of those days where nothing seems to go right. As she was walking to work that morning, the sky decided to open up, and she was cold and drenched by the time she reached the restaurant. Working as a waitress at Tibby's wasn't a glorious lifestyle, but it kept her out of the gutter. After trying to dry off as best as she could, she quickly tried to go work. Still freezing and damp, she wasn't very focused and dropped a tray full of plates. Her boss, who must have been having as much of a good day as her, fired her immediately. Alyssa tried to explain her horrible day, but it was no luck. On top of all this, she was almost positive someone had been following her all day.

Even now, as night was setting in and her teeth were still chattering, she thought she heard footsteps not far behind her. She turned around, exasperated, but saw nothing but an empty street and a few streetlights. Walking again, she tried to distract herself, just concentrating on getting home…..wait, what home? She had no home now. The landlord of her apartment had agreed to let her stay as long as she was working and was paying him back. She ran her hand through her long, soft brown hair. There was no sense going back to there now.

So that's it.

Alyssa's big green eye's welled with more tears as she thought of her miserable day, and everything she had to look forward to. She had no job, no money, no home…GOD what _**are**_ those footsteps?

Spinning around in the middle of the road, completely fed up she yelled, "WHAT? What do you want? I have nothing! Look!"

She opened her purse and dumped out its contents all over the street. There were a few coins, some lipstick, some small personal items, and a worthless key to her apartment. They rolled all over the dark road, as she waited, helplessly, for someone to jump out and attack her.

Realizing she had just made a fool of herself and hadn't gotten anywhere, she bent down to gather her things.

"Fuck." She muttered as her lipstick tube rolled off down the street. Jogging to catch it, her foot suddenly stopped and her leg would not move. The tiny heel of her shoe had managed to get caught in a small hole in the middle of the road.

"Great." She took a moment to just take in all the "wonderful" events that made up her day before reaching down to get her foot out. Alyssa tugged, but her foot would come out. She pulled and twisted, but the hole was not ready to release that heel.

"Come on! Not my favorite shoe, please! I am not taking these off in the middle of a dirty road. Let's go you're coming out." In the midst of more yanking, a sudden noise made her stomach drop. It sounded like a faint clapping noise, but it was getting stronger.

Breathing heavily, and fearing what she hoped it wouldn't be, she turned her head to see what was the source of the noise. Coming towards her, out of control, was a horse drawn carriage that had no intention of stopping. It was too dark to tell whether the driver couldn't see her, or if he just didn't care.

Frantically, Alyssa began to pull at her foot. Time was running out, and her life was now in danger. Her foot only seemed to become stuck deeper in the road. She still refused to take off her shoe. The more she tugged, the more time slipped away, and the louder the horses feet became.

"Please, come on, come on."

clap clap

"Let's go, come one, please."

Clap Clap

"Please, please, no, oh my god, please!"

CLAP CLAP

It was no use. The horse was less than thirty seconds away from her. Even if she chose now to take off her shoe, there would be no time. What happened next was a blur. Somewhere behind the growing noise of the carriage, Alyssa heard familiar footsteps. They grew louder until they were right beside her, colliding with her and picking up her tiny frame. It felt like a huge cork popping when her foot was released from the ground. Then, the figure pushed her, quick and roughly, to the side of the road. She hit the ground hard, and the person landed on top of her. The sudden movement and the heavy weight on her made her groan. Still breathing hard, she looked over and noticed that the carriage was now clambering carelessly past the exact space where she would have lost her life a moment ago.

Her savior realized they were still on top of her, and quickly got up and took a few steps away to catch their breath. Alyssa got up too, and tried to see who it was. There weren't enough street lights for any details, but she could make out the figure of a boy. When he turned around to face her for the first time, she still couldn't see anything clearly. But he took a step towards her, and the light from the moon revealed one thing: his eyes. Alyssa was mesmerized by them. They were big and light blue, almost grey. She couldn't stop staring into them: they were beautiful. Her heart started to thump fast again, and she couldn't remember what she was supposed to say.

His eyes appeared angry at her, but she couldn't understand why. She took a step towards him, and was fully in the light. When he saw her, she saw the eyes soften. She was often told how beautiful she was, but she assumed he was beginning to calm down. Alyssa tried to move closer to the boy who had just saved her life.

"Than…" she tried to say, but suddenly the eyes grew cold again, and it made her stop. It was like he was controlling her with only his amazing eyes. She still couldn't look away, but the cold eyes grew colder, and then were gone as quickly as they had appeared.

She didn't forget them though. The footsteps began to disappear but the image of the light blue pools remained in her mind. An owl hooting brought her back to reality. The street lights abruptly went out, and there was no use trying to go back for her belongings, which still lie out all over the street.

Realizing she still had no where to go, and no one to go to, her mind racing, she did the only thing she could.

She ran.

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**It's only a start, and I promise it will get much better. It's a Spot Conlon story, I swear. Please send me and reviews, I'd love to hear your thought or inputs -Spunkyy77**


	2. Rescued Again

CHAPTER 2:

"Back up, back up!"

"Leave her alone, she looks like she had a hell of a night."

"Don't touch her!"

"Shh! Do you wanna wake her up?"

"Shit, it's too late. She's waking up. Are you happy?"

"Sorry."

_What the hell? Where am I? What happened last night?_

Alyssa began to open her eyes. Her vision was a bit blurry, but as the world around her became clearer, she could see a large group of guys towering over her.

Probably not a good sign.

"Hey there. Are you okay? Did you sleep alright?" This came from a very cute boy with messy brown hair and a red bandana.

"Where am I?" she managed to get out.

"Well, uh, you're in the newsies lodgin' house. You probably don't remember, but we picked ya up offa' the steps out front hear earlier this mornin'. You were out cold and shaking, so we took ya up here."

She sat up and looked around. The room was filled with bunk beds and boys. Lots and lots of boys. It was a small room, but very warm and everyone was staring at her. The memory of her rescue last night began to re-enter her thoughts, and she remembered running until her legs gave and she needed to find a place to rest. She could see the steps clearly in her mind, now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about whose steps they were. I just needed a place to stop."

"Hey, it's no problem." Said "Red Bandana" boy. "We'se just happy your okay. For a little while we thought you'se was dead or hurt." He smiled, and he has a pretty smile.

"Well thank you very much for helping me out."

"Like I said, no problem. Why don't you tell us how a pretty little thing like you ended up on our steps."

Alyssa took a deep breath, and told all the curious and mysterious boys about her miserable day. She left out the part about the late night rescue and the "blue-eyed" boy who saved her. After she was done, the "Red Bandana" boy said,

"Well, it looks like you're having some bad luck. But all your luck just changed, since you found us." He took her hand and helped her stand up.

"Jack Kelly, at your service," he said, bowing slightly.

"Alyssa DeCardo, and thank you very much."

Another boy with curly brown hair and who was insanely muscular said,

"So do you need a place to stay?"

"Well of course she does, Mush! And a job too!" said Jack.

This new boy, Mush, pulled Jack aside.

"Jacky boy, you know we don't have any room left here. We're falling on our asses every night trying to fit everyone now."

"I know that, I'm gonna take her to Brooklyn today to see if Spot Conlon can help her out a little."

"Jack, do you really think that's a good idea? Conlon's good for sleeping with the ladies, then leaving them. Do you think he would let her stay for a while and help her?"

"I'm gonna talk to him. He'll do it."

They stepped back and Jack said,

"Look, Alyssa. We don't exactly have a lot of room here right now to add any more people. But I have a friend in Brooklyn who might be better to help you out and get you a job."

"Really Jack? That would be so great. Thank you, so much!"

"Again, it's no problem. Anything to help out such a beautiful lady," he said, kissing her on the hand.

She could feel herself blush a bit.

"Alright, fellas, lets let the girl clean up a bit. We'll give you some time up here, and just come meet us downstairs when you're ready. OK?" Jack said.

"Ok, thanks."

The boys all began to leave and head downstairs. One of them stayed back behind them all, the last to leave.

"Hey, Alyssa. I just want to tell you that I think you're one brave girl to run the streets of New York so late at night." He said to her.

"Thanks, but I guess now it wasn't such a smart idea."

"Are you kidding? If you hadn't a' done that, we'd nevah have met you, and that would be so tragic. I'm Kid Blink by the way," he said, kissing her hand, a bit slower and more serious than Jack had.

"I just want you to know," he continued. "If you ever need anything: help, a friend, anything, you just find me. Tell Spot, he knows who I am. I'll do anything you need."

"Thank you. I'll definitely do that." Alyssa said, flattered.

The boy was very cute: he had dirty blonde hair, and an eye patch that made him look dashing. He also had a big, warm smile. Alyssa went to the water pump and splashed some water on her face. It looked like things were starting to get better.

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**Okay, so I know my chapters are pretty short. But there will be a lot, so please keep sending me reviews and I'll keep working on this story. Spot will come in soon and i promise it's gonna get good. Review :D**


	3. Mr Conlon

CHAPTER 3:

When she came downstairs, the only boys left were Mush and Jack. The others had all gone to start selling papers. Alyssa didn't say anything; since it was her fault they were late, anyway.

"Jack, are you sure it's not too much trouble to take me to Brooklyn?"

"Nah, none at all. I need a vacation anyway." He said, and she felt better.

They left and began the long walk to Brooklyn. Jack showed her all the important places around the city, the nice people he knew, and places to stay away from. He told her not to worry, Spot Conlon was the most respected and famous newsie. He was tough, but he would help her out. Alyssa asked him to tell her more about Spot:

"What is he like?"

At this, Mush made a strange face and looked at Jack, warningly. Jack nudged him a little to tell him to stay out of it.

"Well, uh, he's a very tough guy, and a lot of the girls like him a lot. He can be a little conceited and harsh on his boys, but he's no one to mess around with. He knows what he's doing, and he does what he has to do." Jack told her.

Alyssa thought she could hear Mush chuckle a little.

_This sounds promising. A guy who will boss me around and try to get in my pants. Great._

"But look, Alyssa," Jack must have read her mind. "As long as you don't get on his bad side, he'll keep you protected and making money. Don't worry about it. And we're always here if you need us." He smiled, reassuringly.

They were over the Brooklyn Bridge now and walking the streets of Brooklyn. Jack stopped at a tall brick building. Mush pulled her aside before they entered.

"Hey, Alyssa, I just want you to know that I'm not trying to give yah a hard time or nothin'. I just don't want to see a great girl like you get in bad with Spot Conlon. Okay? Like Jacky said: you need anything…"

"Thanks Mush. I got it. I think I take care of myself, and I won't let Mr. Conlon affect me. This is only for a job and place to stay for a while. But thanks for caring."

"Yea, yea. Alright. You remember though, just in case."

"Absolutely, Mush." They went inside and up a lot of stairs. At the top floor, there were only about 3 hallways and they went down the second to come to a small room with a card table and some chairs. There was also a big window that looked out over the city.

"Alyssa, you sit down in here, while I go talk to Spot okay?" Then Jack left, taking Mush with him. Alyssa took one of the chairs from the table over to the window and sat in front of it. She stared down at Brooklyn. It was huge, and busy. It looked dangerous, but inviting. She couldn't believe on boy was the leader of this entire area.

_No wonder he's so tough on everyone. I would have to be too, to run a city like this._

She could hear footsteps coming down the hall. But she didn't turn around. She just kept looking at the bustling roads below her. Suddenly she could hear voices coming down the hall.

"She's beautiful, smart, and funny, and sweet, and did I mention beautiful?" Jack was saying.

"Yeah, yeah, well you know how I love the girls. Things are pretty tight here, but I owe you one Jacky so I'll try to fit her in. What's this girl's name again?"

"Alyssa DeCardo."

"DeCardo, huh?" The voices had almost reached the door.

"As long as she doesn't fight with me, or mess with the way I run my boys, I guess it a dea…" The voices were right at the door now, but Spot stopped mid-sentence. Jack looked at him, as he stared, painfully at the girl sitting by the window. His glare was ice cold and almost hating. Before the girl could even turn around, Spot was out the door, and stomping down the hall to a different room.

Alyssa turned around, to see Jack and Mush looking very confused.

_Did I do something wrong already? I didn't even look at him yet!_

Jack and Mush ran down after Spot. Alyssa got up and follow slowly behind, just to hear what they were saying. Spot sounded furious.

"No way, Jacky. I don't think this is gonna work out."

"Come on, Spot. A minute ago, you were gonna let her stay. What the hell is this about?"

"I got no room, and there's no way I'm lettin' a girl stay here. My boys gotta stay pay attention to their work, and she's just gonna mess it all up."

Alyssa was mad that this "Spot Conlon" had just set Jack up to turn him down.

_What an asshole. I better show him who he's messing with._

She walked into the room and started to give him a piece of her mind.

"Look, Mr. Conlon. I don't know who you think you are to lie to Jack like that. I heard you tell him you could fit me in here, and he told you I'd work hard for you so what the hell does it matter that I'm a girl? You have no right to just turn him down like that and maybe I don't even need you anyway. You can just go to…" Their eyes met for the first time, and she was speechless.

Staring back at her were the most familiarly incredible light blue/grey eyes. They looked just like the ones that had saved her life last night. They were hard and mean now.

"Hey, aren't you…" she began.

"No Jack, it's not happening. Not a chance." He interrupted.

Their eyes stayed locked the entire time. She couldn't look away from his gorgeous eye…but what was his excuse?

"Spotty, you said it yourself that you owe me. And I need help for my friend so I'm asking you cause you're the only one I trust her with."

The eyes flinched a little.

"I did say I owed you. Ah'right Jack. I'll let her stay for a little. But if she starts to distract my boys…that's it."

Finally, he ended the stare. He looked at Jack, who smiled and said,

"Thanks Spot. You won't regret it." He came over and hugged Alyssa before leaving. So did Mush, but he whispered in her ear,

"Don't forget." Then they were gone. As soon as they were, Spot walked toward her, and looked her over.

"DeCardo? Is that the name?"

"Alyssa."

"Well, DeCardo, if you wanna stay here with me and my newsies, you gotta play by my rules. My way. Got it?

"Sure, but were't you…"

"Come on, I'll show you your room."

He led her into a small empty room, with just a bed and a small light and a tiny table. His room was next door.

"I'm waking you up early in the morning. I don't have time to get you started selling tomorrow, so you're gonna come around with me for the day. I gotta take care of a few things."

"Fine. But were you following me last night, Mr. Conlon?"

"What the hell are you talking about, DeCardo?"

"Last night, when I got stuck, and I thought I saw your…"

"You're giving me a headache. Just stay in here and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

"But…" The door shut and he was gone.

_Well, at least there's a bed. I'm sure that's the boy who saved me. Wouldn't someone be proud to say they save a girls life? Why won't he just admit it?_

She lay there in her bed for hours, but all she could picture were those eyes. They were so cold, but she just couldn't stop thinking about them. There was something behind them, like some dark secrets. But they only showed when he looked at her. Racking her brain for anything she possible could have done to upset him, she came up with the only solution she could:

_Spot Conlon hates me. And I hate him. _

**If you have any requests or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Keep reviewing :D**


	4. Bad First Day

CHAPTER 4:

"No please, please, no" The carriage continued to speed towards her with no intention of stopping. Suddenly, she could hear the footsteps, pulling her out of the ground, pushing her over to the side of the road, and landing heavily on top of her. He got up quickly, and so did she this time. The boy moved into the light and again she could see those incredible eyes. But then he moved forward, and his whole face and body came into clear view.

"Spot!" cried Alyssa. "I knew it was you! But why are you here? Did you follow me? This is no where near Brooklyn…and I don't even know you. How did you find…"

"You're crazy, DeCardo."

"No, I'm not! I knew you saved me, why can't you admit it? I just…"

He stepped towards her, looking frustrated. The eyes stayed icy.

"Get the fuck up, DeCardo. Wake up!"

Alyssa jolted awake. She realized she was sweating a bit from her strange dream. Arguing with Spot Conlon seemed to be just as tiring in dreams as it was in person. Opening her eyes and stretching a bit, she saw Spot over her.

"I don't know what you're dreaming about but if you keep saying my name in your sleep I'm gonna think you want to kiss me or something. You sound like all those girls who want me to…"

"No! I was just trying to tell you that…"

"I don't really care, DeCardo. Get up. We got a lot to do today."

He left and she got dressed quickly and went downstairs to find him. When she opened the door to go outside, she saw him across the street talking to a group of guys. He had his back to her, and the guys were looking at him, with a strange smile on their face. One of the guys looked up and saw her at the door. He nudged Spot and pointed at Alyssa. Spot saw her and nodded, then finished his conversation and headed over to her.

"What was that about." Asked Alyssa when he reached her.

"Nothing, I told you I had some business to take care of."

"So am I your business?"

"You are now DeCardo."

She couldn't tell if he meant that in a protective way, or if he was calling her his property. She decided not to ask, since he didn't have a lot of patience for her.

For most of the day, he took her around to different Newsie checkpoints in Brooklyn. She watched as he took aside about 2 or 3 boys at each stop and talked with them. She couldn't help but admire the way he carried himself, and the presence he had. No wonder he was the leader of Brooklyn.

Around the 4th stop, Spot went over to some boys, and someone came up behind Alyssa and put their hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?" said the voice belonging to the hands.

"I don't know…Jack?"

"Nope!" The hands came off her eyes and the boy jumped out in front of her.

"Surprise!"

"Kid Blink!" She said and threw her arms around him. It felt good to see a familiar face. He hugged her tightly and said,

"I took the day off to come see how yah were settling in. Conlon's not being too harsh on you is he?"

"Well, he's a lot different than you and the Manhattan boys. But I'm so glad to see you! I can't believe you skipped a whole day of work to come see me!"

"Hey, you're worth it." He blushed a little and looked down at his feet. "Actually, Alyssa, I kinda came to ask you something."

"Really? What is it?"

"Well, you see, Medda, that Swedish lady that Jack introduced to you who owns the show hall? She's having a special card and drinks and show night for the Newsies. I was kinda hoping you would maybe be my date." He paused to look at her. "If you wanted I mean."

Kid Blink saying this flattered her, but the entire time she noticed Spot had looked over and was sending one of his glares towards Blink. It was a stare that had hatred stamped all over it. If looks could kill…

"I'd love to! You are so sweet, Blink. I can't wait! When is it?"

"You will? Great! It's this Saturday night. Spot's coming with his boys earlier that day to see Jack, so I'll see you that morning, probably and we can just go together!"

"Sounds great!"

"Well, I gotta get back to Manhatten, but I'll see you Saturday okay?"

"Absolutely." She gave him a big smile and he pulled her into another big hug, and her eyes glanced over to Spot again. He was still staring at them, but his eyes had a new emotion behind them that she couldn't quite read. Jealousy?

When Kid Blink had walked away, Spot came over and grabbed her by the am and said,

"Come on, I'm taking you back right NOW."

They were quiet for most of the walk back to the building and it was a painful silence. Eventually, Spot stopped walking and said,

"What the hell was Blink doing all the way up here?" His voice was tough, but she could hear a bit of uneasiness.

"Excuse me, it's really none of your business."

"If you're living under my roof, then it is my business."

"Well if you must know, he was telling me about this Saturday night at Medda's."

"There is no way he hauled his ass up here to tell you about it. I coulda told you. Tell me the truth, DeCardo."

"Fine, he was asking me to be his date that night. And I said yes."

This hit Spot very unexpectedly. He was quiet for a minute, just staring at her. He looked like his mind was debating on how to react. Finally, he shook his head and kept walking. After about a minute he stopped and turned toward her and said,

"I've decided I don't want you going with him."

"Excuse me?"

"You are not going with Kid Blink."

"Mr. Conlon, I am not your property. Just because you think letting me stay here is paying Jack a favor back, doesn't mean you can act like you own me. And if we're all going, what does it even matter?"

"Yeah, we're going, but I said you can't go with him."

"Why do you even care so much"

"If you keep arguing about it, you won't even go at all. Got it?"

"I can do whatever I want."

"DeCardo, I don't want to have to teach you the hard way that you gotta live by my rules now. Either you listen to me or your out on the streets."

They were at the lodging house building now.

"Mr. Conlon, you need to learn that I am not your property and I can do whatever I want to and you have no say in that. If that's a problem for you, you can just SHOVE IT!"

Without thinking, he slapped her. Not very hard, but hard enough to shock her. It shocked him, too. She took a step back in disbelief, and then turned around and ran up the stairs, to her room. She slammed the door shut then threw herself on her bed. Just when things were starting to look better, he had to go and ruin everything. She decided right then that she would never let Spot Conlon get to her.

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**It's getting better right? Keep reading and please keep reviewing :D**

**If you have any suggestions or requests, let me know.**


	5. Second Thoughts

CHAPTER 5:

The next morning, Alyssa was awake before the sun came up. She had a restless night, with little sleep. She thought for hours about what she could do about this situation. She could go give him hell and start an argument with him. He'd probably kick her out, and she had no where to go. She could just leave, but again: a place to go was an obstacle. She could apologize to him.

Not gonna happen. Ever.

In the end, she decided she would show him how tough she is. She made a deal with her self to tough it out here for at least another week. Maybe he would change, or she would find a better job around here. If not, Mush and Kid Blink and Jack had told her that she could come to them if she needed. But maybe she wouldn't need to. Besides, she had been on her own practically since she was 13. There was no way Alyssa couldn't handle someone like Spot Conlon. After all, Jack had practically begged for him to let her stay. Why let a favor go to waste? So it was decided.

One week.

For Jack's sake.

He found her sitting on the corner outside the building around six o'clock.

"You're up early." His eyes looked different. Tired. Maybe he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep either.

"What are we doing today?" She tried to show him that she had moved on from yesterday's issue.

"Come on, I'll show you the ropes of being a newsie. If you can follow and catch on quick enough."

"I'll try to keep up, your highness." She had to force back a slight smile.

He took her first to buy her papers.

"Okay, DeCardo, first thing you gotta know: headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes. Got it? So let's just start you off with 30 papes for today."

"No, let's get 50. I know I can do this and if you're as good as you say you are, I'll be selling in no time." Flattering him would make this week a little less painless.

"If you think you can handle that many…"

"I can."

They bought the papers, and he took her to a bench to sit down and look through the stories for that day. They found a few good ones: Death of a lawyer, big wedding celebration, a new tailors store opening, a small fire at a bakery.

After that, he stood up and motioned for her to stay.

"Let me show you how a professional get's it done."

"Should I take notes, professor, or is this a monkey-see, monkey-do lesson?" She was on top of her witty remarks that day. She didn't want to push him, but she wanted it to be clear that her face had recovered and she didn't care about his stupid temper.

"Just sit here and watch, DeCardo." He smirked, ready to show off his skill.

He took a group of papers and walked over by a group of men and began to yell,

"City lawyer, dead and big mysteries left behind! Was he really who he said he was?" The men looked interested and motioned for him to come over to them. She watched as all but one of the men bought papers from him. Alyssa was amazed as Spot proceeded to step towards the man and say cheerfully,

"The inside story is a real shocker, it's gonna be the talk of the town. You look like a man who knows everything important around here. You don't want to miss this."

He was smiling, falsely, but his eyes are what made the man chuckle and pull some money out of his pocket. Spot had locked eye contact with him, and his stare seemed to force the man to buy one of the papers, but created the illusion that he had chose to do so on his own. Alyssa wondered if when that stare was on her, Spot knew he was doing it. Like now, he was fully aware of the fact that his eyes could control someone's thought. But when he was looking at her, it seemed like he was struggling to figure her out. But he was Spot, and he was always trying to overpower someone, so she just dropped the thought.

Spot returned to the bench and smiled proudly and conceitedly.

"And that is why I'm the king of the Brooklyn newsies. They worship me."

"Oh, really? I like your style, Mr. Conlon. But I'd like to try my own technique."

"Well, I'd like to see that, DeCardo. Don't feel bad when you come running back to me, crying because no one will take you seriously enough to buy your papes."

They exchanged quick sarcastic smiles and then she walked over to a younger group of men. She stuck out her chest, and walked sexily over to them, with a big smile, and said,

"Hey, there boys. I'm just starting as a newsie and I was just wondering if you would be interested in buying one of my papers, whoops, I dropped one! Silly me."

She bent down slowly and seductively to pick the paper up. Spot watched and couldn't help but laugh, since he knew she was doing this to mock him. Although he knew this was a one time only thing (he already had her pegged as a girl who would work hard and never sell herself like that) her technique worked. As soon as she stood up and said,

"So! Would you boys like to help me out?" the boys practically fell over themselves to buy a paper from her. She walked back over and gave him a big smile.

"Well? How'd I do?"

"You're crazy DeCardo." They both laughed a little, but he quickly said,

"Come on, we have a lot more to sell. You need to pull your shirt up, or you'll have more to worry about than selling all your papes. You gotta show me you really mean business."

They spent the day walking around different parts of the town. Spot showed her the right types of people to sell to, and how to make a headline sound interesting, without fully lying.

Although she hated to admit it, it was almost pleasant to sell with him. He was…nice. Well at least he wasn't yelling at her all the time. If she didn't already think he was a jerk, she would say that they even got along! Well, they tolerated each other. It was different. All morning he helped her out and taught her everything she would need to know and hadn't made fun of her or bossed her around once. Maybe she was right about the possibility of him changing…

When all 50 papers were sold, they went back to a bench to count the money and make sure it was all accounted for. They worked on counting all the coins together, and it was a bit confusing.

"You'll learn how to count it quickly after a while. It's another technique you have to get a hold of." He was telling her.

"Well, I think I proved today that I'm a fast learner." She looked at him, and he gave a small nod of his approval.

"Look's like you can even go on your own tomorrow, like one of the big boys." They both laughed a little, then there was an awkward silence as they continued to count. Suddenly Spot broke the silence and said,

"Look, DeCardo, I didn't mean to hit you yesterday."

She didn't know what to say to this. She certainly hadn't been expecting it. It hit her hard and she didn't know if he was serious or not.

"What I mean is…I'm sorry okay?" He said it almost pained and she could tell he never does this. Would accepting his apology make her look weak in his eyes? Speaking of his eyes, when she looked at his now, they looked sincerely apologetic. Completely different from how she was used to seeing them. It made her speechless for a moment.

"Can you say something, DeCardo?"

"Yeah…I mean, whatever. Let's not talk about it."

"Don't expect this ever again…this is a one time only thing. You caught me in a good mood, so I don't even know if I mean this apology okay?" He didn't want to look as though she had some power over him. But did she?

"Look, forget it. Let's just move on and forget it," She said.

"Fine by me."

"Good."

Alyssa wondered if maybe this meant her and Spot were okay. Maybe even…friends? She was beginning to think maybe she should give him a second chance. His smile was actually really nice, and she didn't mind a bit of his arrogance. It was who he was.

"Hey, it's late. You wanna go get something to eat before we head in?" he asked.

"Spot, we're no where near the lodging house. We're halfway towards Manhattan!"

"Yea, well there's a little place about 5 minutes away. We might as well."

"Okay."

They walked to a small place called Franks Frankfurters. They both got hot dogs and were waiting for them to be ready, when the bell above the front door rang and Alyssa heard,

"Well, look who it is!"

They both turned around and saw Jack and the Manhattan newsies coming in.

"Heya, Spot. Good evening, Alyssa." Jack came over and gave her a hug.

"So, Spot, how is she doing? Didn't I tell you how great she is? Now you see that you needed her around here don't ya? She really is something isn't she?"

Needing her? Saying she's great? Alyssa looked at Spot, in time to see the once sorry and sweet eyes changed drastically.

"Yea she is something…some kind of pain in the ass." The words stung, Alyssa, but she didn't let it show. "I'm only doing this for you Jack, if she was just some other girl, I would have thrown her crazy ass out two days ago. I didn't need any more newsies, so next time keep 'em to yourself. We're even now."

She knew she couldn't just take this.

"Hey Jack. It's good to see you. Mr. Cocky-Son-of-a-Bitch has been great to work with." She glanced at him and gave him a taste of one of his own stares. She couldn't believe she thought he'd changed. She couldn't believe she thought they were friends, thought he was decent, thought he had a nice smile…

"Hey, Alyssa, are you coming to Medda's on Saturday?" said Mush.

"Yeah, I'll be there." She told him.

"You know, Kid Blink hasn't shut up about you."

"Oh, really? Well actually, he's my date for that night." She shot a look at Spot, who glared at her and shook his head.

"You know what, Mush," he said. "I don't know if we're gonna be able to make it anymore. You might have to send that news down to Blink for DeCardo. We got some business to take care of, and that might run into our plans."

"You gotta go though! Everyone wants to see yah, not just Blink!"

"We'll see if we can settle that business by then." Spot said with a cold stare.

In one moment he went back to the old Spot and she knew that would never change. He had too much pride to ever be nice to girl he couldn't sleep with. Alyssa couldn't believe she had almost let her guard down. One thing was for sure:

That would never happen again.

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**It was longer than the others, but I hope you like it. Keep reviewing...it's really helping with the story. Any idea you got, send 'em on down!**

**-Spunkyy7**


	6. Secret Plans and Handsome

CHAPTER 6:

When they left the restaurant, she couldn't help but yell at Spot.

"What the hell was that about?" She was furious.

"What do you mean, DeCardo?"

"I thought we were past the whole Kid Blink date thing. Why did you have to be such a jerk back there?"

"Hey, I said I was sorry for hitting you. I never said you could still go with him. Do you want me to take back my apology, because I have no problem with that?"

Alyssa was speechless. He was unbelievable. She thought for a second.

_If I pretend to break my date with Blink, Spot will let me go without a problem. There will be so many people there, he'll never see me if I just go around with Kid Blink. He'll probably be drunk, anyway, so he'll never know what happened that night. It's perfect._

She finally looked at him and said,

"Fine, I'll tell Blink that I'm not going to be his date. But when we go, you can't be a jerk to me all night. Deal?"

"First of all, I make the deals around here. Second, I won't even go near you when we're there. But I'm glad you realized that you better start listening to me, or you're gonna get yourself into trouble you don't want." They were at the lodging house now.

"Whatever you say, Conlon." She said and stomped upstairs. She could hear him on her way up saying,

"Exactly."

Saturday came up quickly, since the next day she tried to stay away from Spot. She sold her papers on her own, and did quite well. Alyssa had to fight back the urge to tell Spot that she sold 50 papers all by herself. She just wanted to keep him quiet at least until after Saturday night. She spent her free time making friends with some of the Brooklyn boys in the lodging house. A few of them were really sweet, which surprised her considering the asshole they had to deal with. It was a little obvious that some of them had a crush on her, but she dealt with it since she was the only girl they had time to talk to and live with.

When Saturday came, they had to leave early in the morning to go to Manhattan, since Spot and Jack had some business to take care of. On the way there, she talked to one of her new friends, Handsome. His name was no coincidence; he was very cute and had short brown hair and big chocolate brown eyes and a very nice body. When you looked at him, he let off a vibe that made you want to hug him, for some reason or other. Just to be in his arms. But Alyssa had too many boys to worry about at the moment.

"You know, Alyssa, you've taken Brooklyn by storm. Everyone knows who you are and you're the talk of the town for all the newsies." He told her.

"I guess that makes me 'news for the newsies'." She said, and they both laughed.

"I have never met a girl like you. No girl ever acts they way you do around Spot. You'd never believe it, but most girls fall over themselves for him. He's used to having a girl in his room every night, and it's never a problem. The girls just love his power, and he has this effect on all of 'em."

"Really? I can't see that," she lied. Even Alyssa knew the power of those baby-blues. His eyes could move mountains, or change the weather, she was convinced.

"Well, what's really a shocker for us guys is that he hasn't had a girl at the place for about 4 days. You know what was different that happened 4 days ago?"

She was quiet.

"You showed up." Alyssa still didn't know what to make of this. There was no way Spot liked her at all, she was sure of that. It was probably because he spent so much time trying to annoy her, he didn't have time to sleep with any girls. Wait, what was she saying? She barely saw him yesterday; he had time to do anything he wanted, so why didn't he try to get any girls? Handsome continued.

"Look, I don't know if it means anything, but I think he feels something else for you. I can't tell if it's good or bad yet, but it's something he doesn't know how to deal with. And Spot is known to lash out when he can't deal with something, so just keep standing up for yourself, and don't let him change how amazing you are." He blushed a little, but she stepped in.

"I don't think it's anything good; I mean he's always such a jerk to me."

"Yeah, but that's just how he shows his emotions…"

"Well, I don't know anything about that. But, I was kind of wondering, do you know if he was near Manhattan about 5 days ago?"

"5 days? Hmmm. Yeah, actually, he went up there for the day to see Jack about something. A favor he needed, I think. It's funny you mention that night. Ya see, he usually goes in the morning and comes back between lunch and dinner time. But that night, he didn't get in until close to midnight, and he seemed pretty shook up about something."

"Did he say anything about that?" Alyssa was finally going to get the truth about the night he saved her.

"As a matter of fact…" He didn't get to finish, because they had reached the Manhattan lodging house.

Jack came over to them immediately, and spit shook with Spot. But then he came over and kissed Alyssa on the hand.

"Always a pleasure, Miss Alyssa." He said.

"Great, she's here, you're here, and I'm here. Let's move on, Jacky," said Spot. "I thought I came here for business."

"You're right. I'll see you later, Alyssa." He winked at her, and she smiled back.

When they were gone, she went to look for Blink. Instead, she ran into Mush.

"Hey, Alyssa! It's great to see you!" He said and pulled her into a hug.

"You too, Mush! You have no idea how great it is to be here, where I'm not questioned and yelled at for everything I do."

"Eh, that's just Spot. I warned you, didn't I?"

"You definitely did. I admit I did think about coming to you for help a few times, but I thought Spot would never let me forget that."

"Hey," he smiled warmly. "The offer still stands." He squeezed her hand and then left. She found Kid Blink upstairs, shining his shoes for that night.

"Heya, Alyssa. I can't wait for tonight!" She felt really bad, knowing that she had to explain her deal with Spot to him and her secret plan. She hoped he'd understand…

"Yeah, me too. But I have to talk to you about something."

She gave him the basic story, leaving out most of her rivalry with Spot. She didn't want everyone there to know he was giving her a lot of trouble, since it would only cause more. Alyssa explained that he was really giving her orders, and she didn't want to upset the guy who was letting her live in his lodging house, since she had no where else to go. She promised Blink that it would be like she never made this deal tonight. She'd be his date and they would have a great time. When she was finished telling him she secretly crossed her fingers, hoping he'd take it well. After a moment, he smiled.

"Of course I understand!" She stopped holding her breath and was relieved.

"I can't even believe he didn't scare you enough to make you actually break our date. I know Spot can be pretty intimidating, and most girls would have dumped me, no questions asked. I can't believe you would lie to Spot and go behind his back for me, even though he could be pretty tough on ya if he found out. That's real brave of you." He smiled.

"You know, you're pretty great, Blink." She said, and kissed him on the cheek. His face turned bright red and he said,

"Don't you worry about anything, Alyssa. Tonight, you get to have a good time and I'll make sure you don't have to bother with him. We're gonna have a great time. And if he does come around, I'll help act like I'm upset that you dumped me."

"You're the best! I'm really glad I'm going with you tonight." She said.

She honestly was excited for tonight, so much that she had butterflies in her stomach. She didn't see Spot or Jack all day, since they were working on something together. She spent most of the day preparing for that night. She used some of her earnings to buy a cute outfit. Everyone was wearing their nicer clothes: even Spot was wearing his "special" blue shirt, and shined his cane a little. (not a sexual reference ;] ) Alyssa couldn't afford a big, beautiful dress like most of the girls wore. She only had money from two days of selling, so she managed to buy a tight red dress with small fringes hanging off the bottom of it. It came down to her knees, and she wore red heels. At about 5 o'clock, everyone began to get ready. She found some wet rags that she twisted her hair around to curl it a bit. This took a little while, so she had to hurry getting dressed.

When she came down the stairs to meet the boys, they were all waiting for her. They were all talking, but the room went silent when she came in. Some of the boys smiled, helplessly when they saw her. Kid Blink looked blown away, Jack pretended to step back in shock, and Mush gave her a wink. Even Spot stared at her with his incredible eyes, but they didn't look mean or overpowering. He looked honestly impressed and amazed.

He realized she was watching him, and snapped out of it, saying,

"You took long enough, DeCardo. We're gonna be late because of you."

She shook her head and stepped off the stairs. On the way out the door, Kid Blink squeezed her hand and gave her a quick smile. She smiled back, and then walked a bit away from him. They began to walk to Medda's. Jack put his arm around her and said,

"Boys, we will be at this event with the prettiest girl in the city. EVERYONE'S gonna be jealous of us!" He gave her a one armed hug, and then jumped up in front of the boys with Spot. Handsome came up behind Alyssa and whispered in her ear,

"You look beautiful tonight." He smiled, and then moved back. She was flattered. Mush came over and nudged her.

"I heard about the Blink plan, and I'll help you out. Do you mind if I walk with you?"

"Not at all." In fact, she relaxed a little. She trusted Mush. They walked together, close to the head of the group. Spot and Jack were at the front of all of them. She couldn't help but notice that every now and then, Spot would turn his head to look at all of them, but his eyes would always linger on her for a few extra moments. She pretended not to see this, but it made her think about what Handsome had said about his feelings for her. Speaking of that conversation…she never heard what Spot may have said about the night he saved her. She'd have to find Handsome later and find out. It could tell her more about what Spot really thought about her.

Looking around at Spot, Mush, Jack, Blink, and Handsome, she smiled and thought:

_This is going to be a hell of a night._

**It took longer than I expected but here it is! I actually love this chapter, and I'm hoping the next one is going to be incredible. I should have it up really soon, like even today maybe! Thanks for the great reviews and keep it up! It keeps me going!**

**Thanks guys!**

**-Spunkyy7**


	7. The Party

CHAPTER 7:

Medda's place looked amazing. All the tables were set up for everyone to sit and the stage was ready for an evening show. They got there and Jack and Spot immediately went to a table and started some drinks. Spot gave her one last look before he took off with Jack.

Mush was great. He walked around with Alyssa, and showed her around the place until they found a table with Kid Blink and a few more of the boys far away from Spot. He even set it up so he would sit next to her, and Blink sat across from her, in case Spot looked over to see who she was with. It was so nice of them to do all that, but all she could think about was:

_Why does Spot care so much?_

For the first hour or so of the evening, Medda came out and said hello to everyone, especially her good friend Jack. The show began with her and some of her best girls singing and dancing. Everyone drank and sang along and it was really a great time. Mush stayed looking out for Alyssa, while she walked around talking to Blink. He was such a gentleman: he bought her a drink, opened doors for her, pulled her chair out, and held her arm like she was a fancy lady, and not just a runaway-turned-newsie. They talked about her old life, as a waitress, and how she was settling into the newsie business. She asked him about his life, and they had a very fun conversation. Everything was going great.

Until around 9 o'clock.

While Medda was singing, and everyone was joining in and drinking, the front doors silently opened, and a group of the working girls entered.

"Ahh, newsies, a little gift from me to you!" said Medda. She had invited them to be dance partners with the boys, and possibly start a little romantic fun. The girls spread out across the room and immediately began chatting and flirting with the boys. Kid Blink pulled Alyssa close for a moment, to show that he was with her and had no intention of changing that. Alyssa didn't mind the girls at first. She knew this was just a one-night party and everyone could have a little fun. Whatever happened here would stay here right?

Her eyes scanned the room, as she amused herself watching some of the boys make fools of themselves trying to attract the girls. She laughed a bit to herself, but then her gaze landed on the table with Jack and Spot. While Jack was talking with some of the boys there, and passing around more drinks, Spot was very busy on his own.

Normally, this would make her relieved, since she didn't want him to see her with Blink at all. But this particular time he was **too **occupied.

With 4 girls.

Next to him, holding his arm, behind him, and on his lap.

He didn't look like he was in love, just like he was flirting and preparing to break hearts. For the strangest reason, something changed in Alyssa at that moment. A new feeling took her over, and made her so confused. She knew she hated him, and didn't care what he did; he could die and she wouldn't notice…right? Then why was a feeling of jealousy crawling into her? The girls were all over him, but suddenly Spot's eyes locked into hers. He saw her and three things happened.

1. Alyssa saw the eyes look weak for a second, and the face they belonged to lose a bit of color.

2. The eyes changed…not to being mean, but laughing a bit. He started to flirt even more now with the girls, teasing her. Like he knew what she was feeling. He kept looking at her, but began to pull one of the girls closer, his arm on her waist his face close to hers. The eyes stayed locked.

3. Alyssa broke the gaze. In one swift move she pulled Blink closer and gave him a big kiss. Right on the lips. He didn't see it coming. Neither did Spot. Blink put his arms around her and held her tightly to keep it going. She didn't stop him. A few of the guys whistled and yelled,

"Get it Blink!" and "Yeah man!" His kisses were filled with his crush on her. Hers were filled with her crush on him, but had some revenge in them too. She hoped he wouldn't notice. They continued to kiss until a loud noise of a glass breaking ended it. They turned around quickly, only to see a waiter running to clean up a glass that had fallen out of someone's hand.

Spot's hand. He had stood up, and the girls backed away when the glass fell. She met his gaze again, and it looked furious. Cold and mean couldn't even begin to describe them. He sat down again and looked away, before anyone could tell he was looking at her. Alyssa turned back to Blink, who laughed, awkwardly and put his arm around her. Neither of them cared if anyone saw them anymore.

The room returned to bustling again, and everything went back to normal. Almost.

For a little while, Alyssa and Blink went around together, saying hi to some people. Blink introduced her to some of his friends: Racetrack, Skittery, David, and Boots. They were all really nice to her. At some point, she pulled Blink over for a second and said,

"I have to go find one of my friends for a minute, I'll be back soon. Okay?" she gave him a smile, and he nodded.

She found Handsome over with a few of the boys from Brooklyn, talking to 2 of the girls.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sure. Heya, boys, I'll be back in a little." She took his hand and led him into one of the rooms on the side of the main room. The room had a card table and some chairs in it. They closed the door behind them and he pulled over two chairs for them.

"What's goin' on?" he asked her.

"Remember how you were telling me that Spot was in Brooklyn 5 nights ago, and he was shook up about something there?"

"Yeah."

"Well you never told me what he said about it."

"Oh, right! Do you want the whole story?"

"If you can, that would be great."

"Well, when he came back that night, he didn't talk to anyone and went right to his room. That was really strange, since he would have told us boys what took him so long that night. So, I went to his room to see if everything was okay, or if there was a problem. When I knocked on the door, he didn't answer right away, and when he did he looked really confused about something. He let me in and I asked him what happened that night. He didn't want to tell me at first, but then he said that if he did, he didn't want me telling anyone, or I'd pay big time." He paused. "Hey, isn't Blink gonna be looking for you?"

"No, I told him I was going to talk to you. Just keep going." She said.

"Okay, if you say so. Anyway, he told me that he went to Manhattan to ask Jack for a favor. He didn't go into that very much. Then he said he was about to come home, when he saw someone in the window of a restaurant. Spot doesn't do much more than business, so it must have been a girl to make him stop and stay longer. He said he couldn't tell me why, but he had to wait for this person. Around this point, he stopped talking and thought for about a minute. I think he was debating whether to tell me the **whole **story or not. He finally said that not much happened during the day, because the person disappeared for a while."

Alyssa thought to herself:

_Maybe he's talking about when I went in the back to dry off from that rain storm. _

"Spot said that after a little he got bored waiting for this person. That was weird too, since normally if Spot wants to do something, he'll do it and he won't wait. But he said he started to go home. It was pretty late by now, and he didn't want us boys to piss our pants waiting for him"

_That's Spot. _

"Right when he started to leave, he saw someone in the middle of the street. He said it looked like they were stuck or something, and a carriage was coming towards them. So, he did the only thing he could think of: he ran over and pulled the person over to the side of the road. He said it like saving a person's life was no big deal. Anyway, he told me that after he did this, he saw that the person he saved was the same one he saw in the window earlier. He told me that he was furious that he had saved the same person that made him stay in Manhattan for so long, when he had better things to do. So instead of waiting even more for the asshole to thank him, and talk with him, he just took off and came home. He said that he was just really pissed off."

_Liar. I saw his eyes. He must have forgotten the first time I saw his eyes. They weren't angry._

"I think he lied to me." Handsome ended her thoughts and his story.

They were both quiet for a moment, as Handsome watched Alyssa process this story. She thought it was strange that he didn't ask her why she was so interested in it. After a second, she sighed and looked at him.

"Thanks for telling me, Handsome."

"No problem. Hey, I should get back to the party. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm gonna stay in here for a minute, I think."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just need a minute."

"Do you want me to tell Blink where you are?"

"Yeah, that would be great. He'll get worried, otherwise."

"Okay, I'll see you later tonight, then."

"Sure. Thanks again." He left her there and she turned her chair around to think for a minute.

_What could all this mean? Now I know for sure Spot had saved my life, and that he did follow me for a while that day. But he won't admit to any of it, or explain any of it, and that doesn't make any sense. If only he'd just be nice to me again, maybe I can get it out of him. Maybe not even nice. Just calm for a little while. Or drunk…_

The door opened, but she didn't turn around.

_It's Blink. Good. I need to get my mind off of all this craziness._

Whoever it was closed the door, and she got up and turned around with a smile on, thinking to see Kid Blink. Instead, she found herself staring into 2 familiar blue-grey eyes.

"Spot…" she began. He looked angry, and drunk. He stepped towards her, shaking his head.

"What did I tell you, DeCardo? I thought you learned that you gotta listen to me, or you'll be in big trouble. And what do you do? You lie to me and then disobey me."

"You know what, Mr. Conlon? You don't have any right to tell me what to do or who I can be with. I tried to make things cool between us, and I thought that day you taught me how to be a newsie that maybe we **were **cool. But then you turned around and acted like an asshole again. But none of that even matters because the point is that you do not own me."

"That's where you're wrong. I think you need me more than you want to admit, DeCardo. I saw you looking at me across the room tonight."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

He pushed her against the wall and move in close to her.

"I think you do. It was right before you decided to kiss Kid Blink right in front of everyone. I know you well enough to know that isn't something you would do on the first date, since you're no whore. Or are you DeCardo? Are you a whore? Is that why Jack needed you to stay with me, since he had to pay you back for a one-night stand?"

"I am not a whore and you can't talk about Jack like that!" She gave him a smack across the face. He didn't move away.

"There." She said. "We're even." He shook his head. He still had her cornered against the wall.

"I don't think so, DeCardo. Like I said, you disobeyed me. Ask any of my boys, and they'll tell you what happens to people who don't do what I say."

"Well I'm not one of you're boys." She raised a hand to smack him again. He caught it and put it on his neck.

"You're right." He said closing more space between them. "You're not."

She could feel his breath on her face. His lips were almost touching hers. His eyes were staring straight into hers, and they looked completely unpredictable. But for some reason, she didn't move. Somewhere in the back of her mind, some little voice was telling her that she wanted something to happen between them right now. He inched toward her even more.

Before anything could happen, the door opened and Blink came in. Alyssa stomped on Spot's foot and he grabbed it in shock. She moved away from him, and ran over to Blink, who didn't look hurt or angry at her. Instead he looked at her and said,

"I can't believe Spot would be this angry at you for being with me. I'm just glad I got here in time before he could hurt you or anything." He said.

_How oblivious he was. _

He put his arm around her and started to pull her back to the party. She turned around to see Spot staring at them. At first, he was glaring at the back of Blink's head. But then he looked at Alyssa and his eyes looked a little disappointed and hurt. But since Spot was Spot, he quickly changed to a glare at her too. She put her arm around Blink and returned to the party.

_This is going to make for a long walk back to Brooklyn. _

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**Please give me feedback on this chapter...I was a little unsure about it. **

**Thanks for reading guys, and the great reviews make me smile :]**

**-Spunkyy7**


	8. Surprises

CHAPTER 8:

The party ended too quickly after that. They say time flies when you're having fun, well Alyssa was dreading the walk home with Spot and time seemed to breeze by even faster. When people began to leave, Blink pulled her aside and gave her a long kiss. She didn't really feel it though. Her mind was in a strange state, and she couldn't process any thoughts or feelings. Even so, she smiled and gave him a hug and said,

"I had a really great time. Thank you for an amazing night."

"I really hope we can do this again, soon." He told her. His smile made her stomach hurt and a lump rise in her throat. Here he was, laying his heart out for her. He was sweet, handsome, funny, a gentleman, all the things any girl would dream about in a guy. So why couldn't she give her heart back to him?

Alyssa hugged Jack and her new friends from Manhattan goodbye, and then Handsome grabbed her before she left so he could walk with her. This made her feel so much better. He kept her close, and watched Spot out of the corner of his eye, making sure he wouldn't come near her.

They were all quiet, but she didn't notice. Her mind was racing. Why didn't Spot kiss her? She had smelled his breath when he had cornered her, and it didn't smell like alcohol at all. He wasn't drunk. But why did he do that intentionally? He hated her.

Right?

More importantly, why didn't she move? When her worst enemy was right in front of her, about to make a fool out of her, about to make her look like a hypocrite, why did she stand there, helplessly waiting for him to make a move?

What if Blink hadn't burst in? What would have happened? She wouldn't have kissed him, of course. He was Spot Colon.

Spot Conlon. The name sounded differently now. Not in a good or bad way, just differently. But what needed to be decided now was how would this affect her. She thought for a minute and then decided:

It wouldn't. She would go on as if it never happened. Hating Spot would be so much easier than….well… **not** hating him. If he approached her, she would act like she had no clue what he was talking about.

God, what is **he **thinking right now?

They reached Brooklyn. She hadn't spoken a word. She thanked Handsome for watching her back, and went up to her room in a daze. When she got there, she just sat on her bed, staring at the wall. Her mind was full of thoughts, but nothing stood out for her to concentrate on. She heard the boys rough-house their way into the building and go to their rooms, noisily but quickly. For a few more moment she just sat there, blankly. A knock on her door woke her up, and made her jump. She opened the door saying,

"I'm really not in the mood to talk, Handsome…" but Handsome wasn't there.

Spot looked at her for a moment, then smirked.

"Aw, you think I'm handsome, DeCardo?" She threw him a disgusted look, then realized what she had decided to do.

"What do you want, Mr. Conlon?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you had fun tonight." He said, instigating.

"As a matter of fact, I had a great time." She told him

"Oh really?" He said, and took a step into her room. He had a teasing smile on his face. " I bet I know you're favorite part of the evening."

"That would be when I locked lips with Kid Blink, my date." She said defensively.

"I don't think so, DeCardo. You liked a different part, that had nothing to do with Blink." He was stepping towards her now. She took a seat on her bed and said,

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

"Really, I don't."

"Well do you want a reminder?" He said, standing right in front of her now, looking down with an evil and dangerous smile on.

"Mr. Conlon, I have no clue what you mean. So stop whatever you're getting at right now, because I…I know all about Manhattan five days ago. I know what you did and why you did it." In fact, she didn't know why he had waited for her and saved her, but it got to him.

His eyes changed. He had realized that she knew something she wasn't supposed to and he was making a fool of himself. That wasn't going to happen.

(FLASHBACK)

"Spot is known to lash out when he can't deal with something." Handsome said.

(END FLASHBACK)

He stepped back and his eyes grew harsh.

"You're crazy. I don't know what you're talking about. You know what, DeCardo? If I wasn't so drunk right now, I would smack you again. In fact, I should!" He raised his hand to hit her, but at that moment, Handsome came into her room. He saw Alyssa on the bed, and Spot with his hand frozen in midair.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he shouted. Alyssa knew Spot wouldn't hit her, now. If he did, he would have to admit everything. About Manhattan, about tonight…

Spot saw Handsome and he dropped his hand. His face was furious as he stepped towards him.

"What did you tell her?" he said.

"I…I nothing." Handsome stuttered, trying to move towards Alyssa."

"Bullshit! What does she know? You are the only person who could have told her

so you better just tell me now _Handsome." _His eyes looked ready to kill.

"Spot, really, I didn't…" But it was too late. Spot grabbed Handsome and punched him in the stomach. Hard. Handsome went right down. He probably could have knocked Spot out, if it wasn't for his fear of him and the fact that he didn't see that coming at all.

Spot kicked him in the chest when he fell. Alyssa gasped and ran over to Handsome.

On his way out, Spot said,

"That was a warning for you DeCardo. For lying to me and disobeying me earlier. So let's forget tonight and move on, so I don't have to kick you out on the streets. I know you need this place, and you don't know shit!" He was gone before she could throw back a "Fuck you, Spot!"

"Handsome, I'm so sorry. I…he was drunk and I just needed to…"

"Alyssa, it okay," he moaned. "I'd rather it be me than you."

Even when he had a wounded stomach, he still acted brave for her. She couldn't believe it. She helped him up and he sat down on the bed.

"Do you want to tell me why I just took a punch for you though?" he smiled, then winced in pain.

"Well, don't tell anyone this, but Spot was so drunk tonight he tried to kiss me. But Blink came in and stopped him before he could. Then he came in here and tried to do it again. I'm sorry you got hurt, I just wanted to change the subject before he tried to do anything else. So I brought up Manhattan, thinking it might shake him up again so he'd leave. But instead he got angry, and I forgot that he had only told you about it. He was about to hit me when you came in, and I guess you reminded him that he told you. I'm so sorry."

"Alyssa? I hate to tell you this, but Spot didn't drink tonight. Remember when he

dropped his glass? Well that was his only one, and he didn't even get a chance to drink it. So he was totally sober when he tried whatever it was on you. And don't worry about the punch, I'll be fine. I'm just glad he didn't get to hit you."

She didn't hear the end of that, though. He wasn't drunk? Maybe Handsome was more correct than he thought. Maybe Spot did like her a lot more than he let on. He had tried to kiss her twice in one night, and he didn't have any drinks in him at all. But how could he like her? She wasn't one of those easy sluts who he was enjoying earlier that night. That was his type right? Not her. She was interested in Blink, right? A gentleman, not a dictator. A nice guy, not a bad boy, right? Right?

Anyway, how could she love him? He hadn't done anything that would make her do that. Except for his unexpected apology, or the fact that he helped her with her job. Or that he hadn't slept with any girls since she came along.

Or that he had saved her life…

_Fuck. _She said to herself for the millionth time in 5 days. She needed to think about this.

"Handsome will you be okay?" she asked, in a whisper.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He hugged her and then tried to get up. He wobbled to the door and turned around.

"Alyssa, be careful. I think Spot means business now."

"Don't worry. I will. Thanks again."

He left and she returned to staring at the wall.

When Spot looked at her, there was something in the back of his eyes that wasn't completely mean. Always. She was only beginning to see this now, but it had always been there. And he was always acting defensive over her. She remembered admiring how he carried himself when he was selling papers. That was like his getaway, when he could shine at something and be amazing. She had always sort of like how he was in charge and ran his city. Something about him….

_Fuck. _Again.

Did she love him?

She couldn't tell if her heart wasn't sure, or if it wouldn't admit it yet.

Alyssa knew if she ever did, and accepted it, she might let her guard down around him. Then she would be just like any sleazy cheap girl he slept with all the time. He would use her and throw her away.

That proved he couldn't love anyone. He could never just have one girl, because he had too much pride. He would only hurt her in the end.

Well she had pride too. Even if she did love him a little, which she didn't, she would never be one of those girls. Spot Conlon was not going to use her, ever.

She decided to stay further away from him: if they didn't see each other, they would fight, he wouldn't hurt anyone else, she wouldn't get in any more trouble, they wouldn't love each other. It was that easy.

Right?

**To be honest, I'm not really sure about this chapter. Please give me feedback, because I don't know if this is the way I wanted it to go. I wanted to change it up a little so it wouldn't get boring. **

**PLEASE R&R**

**I'm sorry it took so long. :[ Next one will be up soon, but also give me any suggestions on what you'd like to see happen.**

**Thanks guys!**

**-Spunkyy7**

?


	9. Vacation for her Heart

CHAPTER 9:

Alyssa slept restlessly that night. She woke up very early and just lay awake in bed, thinking. So much had happened and it hadn't even been a week yet. It felt like a year had gone by. Something was really bothering her, eating at her, making her feel crazy. She couldn't love him. He was violent, arrogant, and heartless. For God's sake: he didn't even call her by her first name! He only called her DeCardo! It wouldn't work out anyway. So there you go. She wasn't in love with him, it was a just her mind messing with her.

But just in case, something had to be done. She didn't want to give him any ideas. Besides, she had already caused enough trouble in Brooklyn. People were talking about her, and Handsome would have a pained stomach for days because of her. Maybe it was time to use one of her lifelines. She'd had plenty of offers from her Manhattan friends. A visit to them would get her away from Spot for a little while

She could sort out her thoughts, make sure she didn't love him, and be positive it would never happen. She could spend time with Blink; he could make her forget about Spot. Well, maybe.

What did she mean maybe? Of course he could. She liked him, didn't she? She kissed him, right?

Alyssa decided to go to Manhattan for a while. She wouldn't mind staying on the floor…or with Blink! All the boys there treated her nicely and didn't order her around all the time. Jack, Mush, Blink, and all her new friends would be there to help her out. She could sell papers there, since Spot had taught her so well.

Ahhh forget about Spot! She started to pack up her few things: the nice outfit she bought for last night, her other personal things she picked up along the way of selling, and a few other things. She considered telling Handsome about this, since he would be worried. But then she decided against it, since she had already gotten him hurt enough. But she did leave a note behind. It said:

Guys: (she didn't want to leave a note for just Spot) I'm going to Manhattan for a little while. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. Maybe I'll come back. Maybe I won't. It was nice to get to know all you guys. Well, most of you, anyway. Maybe I'll see you soon.

-Alyssa

She left it on her bed. She was glad she wouldn't be around when Spot found it. Even so, he'd probably be happy to have gotten rid of her. She wished she could put something special in it for Handsome. He would be the most upset about her sudden disappearance. But right now it was too risky for him.

Alyssa left and began to walk to Manhattan. Alone.

She had walked this a few times already: when she was first taken to Brooklyn, on the way to and from Medda's. So she knew it pretty well. The entire time she thought to herself about so many things. Did she ever want to go back to Brooklyn? It seemed like she would have no other choice than to eventually return there. But would things ever be the same between her and Spot after this? Maybe leaving wasn't such a good idea after all. It was too late to turn back now. She was already across the bridge, and she could see the last long road she had to take to reach the Manhattan lodging house.

When she got there, the sun was up. Walking towards the door, she could hear the boys awake and bustling around, getting ready for a day of selling.

_Should I just go in? Or would that be rude? Maybe I should wait out here for them._

Instead, she went inside, but not upstairs. She waited in the main hall for about 10 minutes before Jack came hurdling down the stairs. When he first saw her, he looked shocked, but quickly, a big smile took over his face.

"To what do we owe this pleasure, Miss Alyssa?" he said, pulling her into a bear hug. Chuckling nervously, she responded with,

"Ah, well Jack I was hoping I could talk with you alone. So I guess now is as good as ever." His eyebrows furrowed in a worried look, so she pulled him into the next room.

"Things are kind of… sticky in Brooklyn for me right now. I was sort of wondering if I could stay here for a few days?" She paused, but then hurriedly added, "I know there isn't a lot of room here, but I don't mind sleeping on the floor, or down here even. I can sell all by myself, and I could even pay you if you want and…"

"Hey, hey, slow down. Relax. Of course you can stay here. It's no problem, we can make room for yah. I gotta warn yah, it probably won't be too comfortable, but if you're really that desperate then it will be fine. Do you want to tell me what happened in Brooklyn?"

"Not right now, but thank you so much Jack! You are the greatest." She grabbed him into a hug and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a bit but before he could say anything, another person walked in and said,

"Oh, so you don't see me for a few hours, and you already move on?" She turned around in time to see Blink and have him pull her into a hug. She squeezed him tightly, only because it felt good to be around someone who actually may love her. When they went to pull out of the hug, he gave her a quick kiss and said,

"I heard you talk with Jacky. I can't believe you're staying here! This is so great! We can spend more time together now… maybe even go on a real date! And, hey, if you need a bed to stay in…"

"Haha, don't get carried away, now." She said, teasingly, with a smirk and a wink.

The rest of the boys came running downstairs, and were all just as shocked to see her. Mush gave her a look that read 'I can't believe you made it that many days with Spot.' She smiled and punched him jokingly in the arm. He laughed and for the first time all night, she felt safe and happy.

"Okay boys, lets head out!" Jack shouted. Alyssa started to go out the door, but Jack put his arm out to stop her.

"No offense, Alyssa, but you look like you haven't slept in days. Why don't you take the day off, and go sleep upstairs? I'll take care of your papes."

"Jack, how many times can I tell you how amazing you are?" She gave him one more hug before heading upstairs. Finding the beds wasn't hard: they were just as she remembered from when the boys took her up that night… well she didn't want to think about that night right now. That would lead to thinking about Spot and she came here to forget him. For a little while, any how.

She laid down on a bed, and before drifting into sleep, she smiled to herself thinking,

_Things are going to be okay. _

Sleep tight, Alyssa. Things **are **going to change. But you won't necessarily be ready for it. ;]

**Okay, so sorry to get all gossip girly on the end. :D**

**Also, sorry it is short. I didn't have time to write anymore, since it's a school night.**

**The story is coming to an end soon, but not too soon, so don't be sad.**

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Keep them up, they keep me going!**

**I will try to post what I was going to finish tomorrow if I can. **

**Keep R&R, and I'll keep posting for yah.**

**Don't worry, when this story is over, I'll have a new one starting ;)**

**Love y'all**

**-Spunkyy7**

**Ps: check out my profile, I just figured out how to make it!!**


	10. Visit from a Friend

CHAPTER 10:

Alyssa slept for the whole day, and far into the night. She slept surprisingly well. She was barely awake to hear the boys come in every now and then and check on her. Mostly Jack and Mush. It made her happy to know people cared about her. She had no dreams, mostly because she knew if she did they would be nightmares about what was going to happen to her when she eventually tried to return to Brooklyn. But for now, everything was peaceful.

But nothing that peaceful can last.

The next few days, she sold around Manhattan. It was a fun time, they were all so nice to her, and Kid Blink always flirted with her and treated her like she was his girl. She was very relaxed and happy, but a bad feeling remained in the pit of her stomach.

One morning, she got up with all the boys, ready to sell as usual.

"Good morning, miss. Did you sleep well?" Jack said, lifting her chin a bit.

She returned this with a big smile and a playful punch at him. Laughing and horsing around, she jumped down the stairs with all the boys, skipping through them all until she was in front of the pack. She was having a great time, with so much energy and feeling carefree. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was facing the boys coming down who were high fiving her, tickling her, winking at her. But when they got to where she was standing, they all froze.

Alyssa was confused at first. They just suddenly stopped and stared at something behind her. She waited, impatiently, for a moment for them to move, but they all just stood there. Finally, she turned around to see what made them all stop. When she did, her stomach did a strange twist, and her heart dropped.

She was standing face to face with Handsome.

He looked tired, like he had walked to Manhattan very early that morning. His hair was rumpled, his face serious. He looked back and forth between Alyssa and the boys.

The silence held up for what felt like forever, until Handsome finally said, weakly,

"Uh, if you fellas don't mind, I'd need to talk to Alyssa for a little while."

With that, Jack yelled,

"Alright, boys, let's go carry the banner!" All the guys ran out behind him, leaving Handsome still looking at Alyssa, who was completely puzzled.

_What is he doing her? I hope Spot didn't hurt him again._

He waited a second then grabber her hand and pulled her into the next room. They stood there in the middle of the floor, him staring at the floor, but soon he looked up and said, in a whisper,

"I was worried about you. You scared me half to death, you know."

"I know. I'm sorry. How's you stomach?" She replied, quietly.

"It's better, thanks."

More silence.

"I didn't come here to talk about me though." He said suddenly.

She didn't know what to say to this, so she waited for him to continue.

"It's…it's Spot."

_Spot? What about Spot? This can't be good…_

She looked at him, confused.

"I think you really scared him." He paused. "Well, not scared. Spot doesn't get **scared**. You shook him up." He thought for a minute. "Like as much as he was shaken up when he went to Manhattan a few days ago."

"Was he mad that I left? Who found the letter? What did the guys say? Did he hurt you?"

"Hey, hey slow down. That's a lotta questions. Relax. I'll tell yah."

"Sorry, I feel really bad for leaving now. If you had to come all the way here to talk to me, I must have made a big mistake."

"Well, personally, I think you did a good thing. Yah did what yah had to do to get away for a while, even though I was worried about yah. But on my way here, I sorta realized that yah made a smart move. Anyway, about your questions: I found the letter. I didn't want to say anything to Spot right away, because I was afraid he'd think I was in on it. So I told him he should probably wake you up, and I left the note for him to find."

"And he found it?"

"Oh he found it, alright. I hid by the door to watch him read it. He didn't know I was there. When he read it, he crumpled up the paper and threw it across your room. He turned a bit, and his face was furious, like on fire. But it changed really fast. Then, he sat on your bed and put his face in his hands and sighed a lot. He kept saying, 'DeCardo'. He looked more disappointed than sad or angry. I'm telling yah, Alyssa, I think the guy feels something for yah. I'm almost sure of it now."

Alyssa couldn't believe this. It didn't sound like Spot at all.

"What happened after that?" she asked.

"Well, he found me and told me that I wouldn't have to worry about that lousy pain in the neck, DeCardo anymore. She was gone. But he didn't say it with a lot of his usual coldness. He was honestly upset. After that, we didn't see much of him for the next few days. I heard a couple boys around the city saying, 'Now that chick is gone, the normal Spot can come back.' But that's not what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"He still hasn't had any girls in his room, he doesn't talk much. He drinks a little more now. He lashes out a lot more than usual, too. Not on me though. One time, though, I though I heard him go into yah room. I think he just went to sit there for a little. Yea, he's been acting weird lately. I think behind it all, he misses yah."

The silence came back, as she took all this in.

_Does he really like me? He has a funny way of showing it to me. If he really did like me, he would have been nice to me like he was to those girls at Medda's. He wouldn't have treated me so bad, right? Unless, of course he __**really **__likes me, and doesn't know how to show it…_

Finally, she said,

"Well, thanks for coming all the way here to talk to me, Handsome."

She pulled him into a hug. He winced a bit, since his stomach still stung a little, but he held her tight anyway.

"I really missed you." She said.

"I missed you too," he said, blushing. "Yah think you're gonna come back? I know a lot of the guys miss yah. I don't think Spot would even mind. Maybe you could just go talk to him. I think when you left, he changed a lot. I think he would listen to yah a bit more now. But hey, what do I know?" He smiled.

"I don't know, Handsome. I still gotta lot to think about. A change like this in him won't last. I'm sure of it. If I stay away, he'll go back to the same old Spot. And if I come back, he'll just think he won. I don't know what to do."

Silence.

"Can I still visit you?" Handsome said, after a minute.

"Of course! We'll find time to see each other, I'll make sure of it." She said, hugging him again.

"Good. Well, I gotta get back to Brooklyn. Spot's gonna be pissed if I'm gone too long. I better not say that I saw you. Hell knows what he'd do to me, then." He shrugged and gave her one more hug before stepping out of the door and going back to Brooklyn.

The rest of the day was like a blur. No one asked about Handsome's visit. She sold papers, but headed in early. For about an hour in the afternoon, she just sat on a bed upstairs in the lodging house, thinking about everything.

_Maybe I should talk to him. Just to see if he's changed. Does he really like me? No, he can't. He's Spot. But what if he does? Do I like him? Ugh, I can't. He'd treat me like dirt. If the boy can't even call me anything but DeCardo, than how the hell could he ever love me? _

_ But still, I'll never know if I don't go see him. Maybe, just for a little bit tonight. I guess it couldn't hurt._

And for the second time in a week, she left a note that would worry a lot of people. This one said:

Boys: I went to Brooklyn to see how things are doing there. I don't know if I'll be back, but I might be. Don't worry. I just need to see where I should be staying at. Thank you for everything. And Blink, don't worry, I'll make sure I see you soon. –Alyssa.

She put it on her bed and flew down the stairs, running toward Brooklyn.

There could be a boy who truly loved her there!

But maybe her hopes were too high. She wasn't ready for any type of disappointment. **If** there was going to be any…

**Okay, sorry it took so long. I had a tough week in school ******

**I'm going to try to finish the story soon, I think you'll all like it, but it may take a drastic change suddenly, so watch out ;]**

**Keep reviewing guys, I love it!!**

**-Spunkyy7**


	11. Confessions and Names

CHAPTER 11:

The sky getting dark and gray, her heart pounding, Alyssa kept heading for Brooklyn. She continued to convince herself that maybe Spot had changed and really did like her. But she wouldn't dare think about liking him. Maybe she would just rub it in his face that he liked her. If he even did.

Suddenly, rain began to pour out of the sky as she crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.

_That can't be a good sign…_ she thought. But she kept going. She had come too far to turn back now.

She was completely soaked by the time she reached the other side of the bridge. But she was now obsessed with finding out if Spot really liked her. Just thinking of him saying, "DeCardo, I…" But she couldn't think that far ahead right now. Running down the street to the building where the boys lived, she couldn't even feel the cold of the water that was dripping off of her.

When she finally got there, she hesitated for a minute before going inside. But she thought,

_Where else do I have to go right now? It is pouring rain and everyone that I know within 20 minutes of here is all inside. Might as well. _

She pulled open the door and went inside. The stairs seemed endless, more than she even remembered. She was sure she was getting water all over the place, but she didn't care. Reaching the hallway where his room was, she slowed up a bit, to catch her breath and not appear eager. The light was on, she could see it. Inching towards it, her heart pounding out of her chest, she began to feel a rush of adrenaline, and was ready to pour her heart out to get an answer out of **the **Spot Conlon.

She began to count down the doors until his.

5

_What if he's still mad at me?_

4

_What if he throws me out?_

3

_What if he loves me?_

2

_Do I love him?_

1

_Guess we're about to find out…_

She reached his room, and before she gave herself a minute to think about it, she threw open his door.

And her heart fell into her feet.

There, on his bed, was Spot and one of those whorish, slutty, cheap girls from Medda's. They were practically eating each others faces, but when the door opened they both stopped and looked up at Alyssa, startled and horrified. Spot's eyes were bigger than golf balls, and they looked almost helpless. The girl he was with didn't know whether to be angry or embarrassed so she just stood there, confused.

Alyssa's head began to feel dizzy, she could feel her heart pounding, still laying in her feet. A lump came to her throat, and her whole body shook.

Realizing how foolish she looked, standing, heart broken in his doorway, she managed to whimper, "I'm sorry. I'll go…" and then lifted her feet, which felt like a thousand pounds each and ran down the hall.

The last thing she heard before she reached the stairs was Spot, who had leapt off of the bed and sprinted to the door and yelled,

"ALYSSA, wait!"

Tears streaming down her face so she couldn't see, she ran until she reached the end of the street where the building was. Although it wasn't as far as she would have liked to run, she didn't have the energy to push herself any farther.

Her emotions were so mixed, and she felt so numb, she didn't know if she should be mad, or sad, or happy, or hurt. She sat on a corner and tried to breathe and control her thoughts.

_Why do I care so much? It's not like I was expecting true love and a ride into the sunset, right? I left Brooklyn, he has no power over me, and I don't have any over him. He can be with whoever he wants to. I don't care. _

She wiped her face and shut her eyes. Even though she didn't want to, her mind forced her to replay that scene in her mind over and over again. Alyssa felt so stupid looking back and realizing she had interrupted him and probably looked so helpless doing it. But his eyes didn't look angry. They looked like he was glad to see her, but then remember what he was doing a moment ago.

Suddenly her eyes opened and her heart leapt back into her chest, as she realized something incredible.

_What did he say when I was running? I must have heard him wrong. It can't be right, could it? Wait, no! He did say it!. _

_He called me… Alyssa. _

Everything fell into place then, and made sense. After all they had been through together; he never had the pride to call her by her first name. He always treated her like one of the boys, and she hadn't stopped him. But she had always liked the way he said DeCardo, and even more, she liked the way he just said Alyssa. Something inside her clicked and she decided, once and for all, that she was completely and hopelessly in love with Spot Conlon.

It was so sudden and such a strong feeling, that she stood up and said it.

"I love Spot Conlon. I _love _Spot Conlon!"

She said it a few times, because it lifted a weight off her shoulders. It felt so great to finally admit, since she had tried to hide it for so long.

But as quickly as it has appeared, the feeling left, and one of sadness took its place, making her sit down again.

What could she do now? There was no way she could face him again, not after what had just happened. All of this, and there was nothing she could do. One thing was for sure: she couldn't stay here. It would hurt too much to see him, and if she did, she wouldn't know what to say. He would probably make fun of her, for being just like all those other girls who threw themselves at him, and she would NEVER be one of them.

Looking back at the building, she whispered,

"I love you, Spot Conlon. But I have to go."

With that, and a heavy heart, she began to walk back to Manhattan.

Through all of this, she never heard the figure that had followed behind her and hid between two stores beside the corner where she sat. The figure that had seen all of her reactions. The mysterious person that had heard all of what she said, including her confession of love.

The figure that watched her walk away now, and stepped out of the shadows, debating what to do next.

When they moved into the moonlight, of the sky that had stopped raining but was about to start again, one thing on the person was immediately illuminated.

Two dazzling blue eyes.

The figure smiled for a flash, then began to walk slowly behind Alyssa.

But when would they reach her? And what would they do when they finally did?

**Okay, guys. I'm SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!**

**I didn't mean for it to, but with the holidays and all, I didn't have a lot of time.**

**I know: excuses, excuses!**

**But your reviews made me realize that I should shut up, sit down, and keep going!**

**It's almost done now, but don't worry! I have already started a new one for ya!**

**Please keep reviewing, and let me know if you want the next to be another Spot fic, or someone else. The on I started is a Spot, since that's what I'm best at, but I'd love some input!**

**Happy Holidays, guys, and the next chapter will be up soon I PROMISE**

**-Spunkyy7**


	12. All Comes Down to This

CHAPTER 12:

Rain clouds getting darker in the sky, Alyssa thought she could hear footsteps behind her. Footsteps that were very familiar. She didn't turn around, because she thought she was imagining it. It was her mind playing games with her, trying to torment her even more. Right before she reached the bridge she stopped, and closed her eyes to get the noise out of her mind.

But it didn't go away.

Instead it got louder. And louder. And LOUDER.

Suddenly, a tap on her shoulder made her eyes pop open and she jumped. She frantically turned around.

Breathing quickly, she saw the blue eyes. He shook his head and looked away, but then brought his gaze back to her.

"I…sorry bout that." He stammered.

Silence. She couldn't help but feel good to admit that even now, as she stared at him, wondering what made him come here, he looked really good.

"What are you doing here, Spot?" she managed to squeak.

"I just… I…figured we should talk, DeCardo." The name stung her a little, but she was surprised she was glad to hear him say it.

Hell, she was glad he was even there. But she knew it wouldn't last.  
Instantly, she began to let out all of her anger.

"Well, Mr. Conlon, I don't want to talk with you." She tried to shoot her best glare at him.

"Look, just a minute. Come on…"

Her anger began to rise, and flood out of her mouth. She could feel her face turning red. Backing up into the street she continued.

"No! I said I don't want to talk, and I mean it! It's too late, I'm gone. You always said what a pain I was, well great! You won't ever have to see me again!"

She thought she heard a noise of stomping coming quickly up the street, but she didn't care. Her mind was racing and she stood in the street yelling at the famous and feared leader of Brooklyn, who stood there, mixing between listening to her rant and trying to make sure he was really hearing the memorable noise he thought he was.

"It will be like I never existed!" Noise growing louder, but she didn't notice.

"Wait…" he murmured…listening closely to the increasing sound.

"You can just go back on with your life as if I was never here!" When the noise was at its loudest, in fact right next to Alyssa, just as she screamed,

"Sorry to have bothered you!" Spot leapt off the side of the road and pulled her arm, which had been outstretched around her during her angry speech, and yanked her away from the source of the sound.

"Hey! Look out!" He shouted as he pulled her close to him.

Alyssa looked back quickly, in time to realize that he had pulled her away from a speeding and careless carriage. Her heart pounding she looked up into his eyes and saw that he had been just as scared for her life as she was now that she realized what he had just saved her from.

"Your foot wasn't stuck this time." He said, with a slight smile, his arms still around her.

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she heard him finally admit to saving her that night in Manhattan.

"It was you…" she said quietly.

She had always known, and so had he, but hearing him say it made her feel like she had won over a part of him. He let go, but he kept looking at her. Not mean, as usual, but the way he looked at her the day they sold together, the day they were **almost **friends. Finally he said,

"Let's take a walk." It wasn't a question, but she followed him anyway. A slight rain began to drizzle on them as they walked in silence for a while. She stared at him in amazement, thinking about how they hadn't fought for over 20 minutes and he wasn't acting as his usual self. Remembering how she had thought that his pride would never let him love a girl who let her guard down, she finally spoke up.

"I think you owe me an explanation." She said, dragging her feet a bit.

"I guess I do." He said, staring into the distance, his one hand playing with the key around his neck, the other gripping his cane as he walked next to her.

After a moment of silence, Alyssa stopped.

"Well?" she said impatiently. She didn't know what she expected to hear him say. But she wanted him to tell her what he needed to. She would decide, then, if it was worth her staying with him now and looking like a fool.

"Well I guess you knew I saved you in Manhattan." He said, motioning for them to keep walking.

"Yes. But why were you there? I guess you know Handsome talked to me…"

"Yeah, I figured. Well I went to Manhattan to do some business with Jack. Stuff you shouldn't be asking about, because it's none of your business."

Spot said this with a bit of aggression, but she knew it was because he felt like he was losing his tough rep by even following her and still being with her.

"Just keep talking." She said, letting him know she didn't give a shit about his rep right now.

"Okay, okay. Don't piss your pants." He said narrowing his eyes at her. Then he looked forward again, took a deep breath and continued.

"So I was about to go back to Brooklyn, when I saw you." He paused, realizing what he had just said, what he was slowly admitting. He smiled, saying,

"You was stomping down the street, soaking wet, like you was about to kill someone, cursing like there was no tomorrow." He laughed a little, and looked at her for an explanation.

"I was rained on." She said, matter-of-factly. "Continue."

"Well, I don't know what it was, and don't let this go to your head, but I liked you." His voice got quieter when he said the last part. Her heart started to pound, but she wasn't going to stop him from telling his story anymore.

"I started to follow you," he continued, still not looking at her.

"You went into that restaurant… uh, Tibby's I think? Anyway, I knew I should have gone home, but I just wanted to see you. Maybe find out your name. To be honest, I thought I'd just treat you like any girl I go with. Charm yah, sleep with yah, and leave yah. But I didn't see you for a while because you stayed inside the place. So I waited."

He stopped for a second, to take off his hat and run his fingers through his brown hair.

"I waited longer than **Spot Conlon **should ever have waited for a girl. For some reason though, you was different. I couldn't leave without at least getting your name, or something. Something to bring home to the boys, you know? So they wouldn't think I'd gone soft or nothing."

Again, his stupid reputation. But she didn't really care. She wanted to hear the rest.

"I don't know when you came outta Tibbys, cause I walked around Manhattan for

a while. Anyway, it was dark so I decided to head back home. On my way, though, I saw someone in the middle of the road, about to get smashed by a dumbass in some carraige. I didn't know it was you. I just thought maybe whoever it was would give me some money or something good for saving their ass. So I helped them out. When I saw who you were, I felt…something changed. I don't know, I just didn't feel like I usually do when I'm around all those other girls who throw themselves at me."

He stopped, and he got cold again for a second.

"Hey!" He said, staring right at her. "Just because I'm telling you this, don't think anything of it, okay? I gotta reputation that I worked my ass off for, and I'm not losing it, yah got it?"

She nodded, resisting the natural instinct to say some wisecrack back to him.

They kept walking as he kept going.

"So I was gonna say something to you for a second after we both got up. But then something in me slapped me across the face, sorta, yelling, 'You're Spot Fucking Conlon! What the hell are you doing? Get outta there!' So I took off. Figured I'd just have to forget about that night, I mean what were the chances of seeing you again?"

Alyssa laughed for a second, but stopped herself quickly. His story was making her feel millions of things. She was surprised that she was hearing this from Spot Conlon, mad about some of his arrogant and womanizing remarks, but mostly, she was anxious to hear the rest.

"When Jack brought you to Brooklyn, first class, I thought someone must be out to get me. I didn't want you to stay, because I thought you might make me feel that weird feeling from that night. And if you recognized me and told people, well I woulda had to do some bad things to yah. I won't go into that, you know, it's leader business."

That was it. She needed to hear the end of the story, or she'd feel like an idiot for staying with him, when she had the dignity to go home and leave the famous leader in the dark night. Backing away, she said,

"I don't care. Look, Spot if you're gonna keep going back and forth between telling me what your deal is with me and reminding me who you are, maybe I should just leave. I know who you are and what you do and if you're gonna waste my time like this I'll just…"

"C'mon, wait!" He said and grabbed her arm, a little too tightly. "I'm not done. If I told you this much already, which I never would do for anyone else, I think you should let me tell you the rest. Then you can leave me here, you can run back to your Blink and Jacky and never see me again, I won't stop you."

His amazing blue eyes looking pleading as they stared into hers.

She looked behind her, then took a small step towards him, and they kept walking.

"So talk, Conlon." She said, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

He sighed heavily, shaking his head, then said,

"DeCardo, DeCardo. You're driving me crazy. Anyhow, I let you stay since I did owe Jack a favor, and also because I'd have tons of people asking me why I turned him down and then the truth would definitely come out. So I handled it the only other way I could: I was tough on you. I treated you like my boys, no mercy. I guess it was harsh, but I had to hide that… that…"

He paused and she jumped in.

"That what?"

"That it was hard living with you when that feeling just wouldn't go away." He said, almost in a whisper.

"And… and…and that it was really extra hard seeing you with Blink. I mean, I know all about him. He's not an ugly guy, the girls like him just as much as the next guy, so I knew you wouldn't be any different from those girls when he admitted he liked yah. But I didn't want you being with him. Not him. When you kissed him, I… I… and the glass... and I…"

His face was red and his grip on the cane could have broken it if it was any tighter. He closed his eyes for a second, to calm down before he could keep going.

"I better get to the end, cuz you're probably gonna start bitching that I'm taking too long again."

She smirked but waited. She just wanted to hear him tell her what she came back for in the first place. Or at least tell her what he really thought of her now.

"Anyway, when you left, I didn't know what to do. If people thought I kicked you out, I'd look like a jerk. If people knew that I was upset that you left, I look like I was losing my rep. So I just took it out on my boys. I didn't mean to hurt Handsome, by the way. I just needed to take my anger out on something, because I knew I was losing yah. I didn't know you were gonna take off so quick after that, or I probably wouldn't have punched him. Well maybe no so hard anyway.

"The boys were starting to get confused. They kept asking me why I wasn't bringing any girls over to the lodgin house for such a long time. I know Handsome knew something was up. I guess some of them sent that girl over tonight. Anyway, I was trying to tell her that I wasn't interested in anything tonight, but she kept trying to convince me that she would make me feel better. I didn't even care what the fuck the guys thought, I told her no, but she kissed me. I guess you know what happened after that."

Alyssa nodded. They were both quiet. After a moment, he said,

"You know, I heard you."

She looked at him, hoping he didn't mean what she knew he did. She played dumb.

"What do you mean, 'you heard me'?"

"I heard you say you loved me."

Deadly silence. She stared at him while he looked right into her eyes. For the first time, she honestly couldn't read them. He took a step closer, and the sky started to rain a bit harder, enough to make them both start to drip with water. After what seemed like hours, Spot looked right into her eyes with his breathtaking ones, and asked,

"Did you mean it?"

Alyssa didn't know what to say. She was shocked, but also mad. His story hadn't led to anything. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he just wanted to make her look foolish.

The rain started to fall harder, so much that they were both soaked quickly but neither one moved. She squinted angrily at him, and realized that maybe she was falling into the pattern of every girl whose heart he broke. Tears stung her eyes, and she was happy the rain was camouflaging it, as she stepped back and practically shouted,

"Why didn't you kiss me that night?"

Spot's face changed, as he remembered the night at Medda's when he had cornered her and had come closer than anything to kissing her. And she hadn't stopped him. Alyssa couldn't believe the words had left her mouth, but she waited, impatiently for his answer.

"I… I … I don't know." He stammered.

They were dripping now, the rain wouldn't let up.

"No, I know you had a reason. Tell me."

"I guess… I thought you would think that you were just like ever other slutty girl who was there that night. That it was just part of my way with girls."

Now she didn't know what to say. She felt warm tears fall down her face and she looked away, but she had no clue where to go from that.

"I thought you would think that it didn't mean anything to me." Spot said suddenly. She looked back. His eyes were locked with hers and they looked completely unpredictable.

He moved towards her, yelling over the rain's noise.

"Did you mean what you said tonight?"

The tears were falling as hard as the rain now, but she did the best she could to hide it. A lump was in her throat and she knew that the next word out of her mouth would change her relationship with Spot Conlon forever. Well, whatever relationship they had.

She looked back at him and his eyes didn't move. Catching her breath she knew it was now or never.

"Yes." She said looking him right in the eyes.

She waited for him to do something. Run away, kiss her, smack her. ANYTHING. But he didn't move. He just stood there, letting the rain fall off his gorgeous face. Alyssa got frustrated.

"Could you say something?"

"DeCardo…Alyssa, there are lots of things I could say or do right now. But I just want you to know something first. Anything you heard about me, forget it. Anything about me and those other girls, forget it. Anything I did to you, smacking you, embarrassing you, fighting with you… I'm sorry, okay? I did all of that cause…cause…"

He moved even closer to her now.

"Because you're not like those other girls. And you deserve way better than a jerk like me. Kid Blink is a nice guy, he's not gonna put you in danger of getting your heart broken. I can't promise anything with me. I don't know I'll ever be any good for you, but

I do know that… I love you."

With that, she grabbed his faced and kissed him. At first, he didn't do anything, since he hadn't expected that. But quickly he wrapped his arms tightly around her and added all of those passionate emotions he had been holding up for so long into the kiss. The rain was falling off of them and they were soaked to the skin, but that one kissed lasted for what seemed like forever.

When they finally broke apart, they both looked at each other and laughed, still holding onto each other. Spot wiped the rain and tears off her face then said,

"Do you know what you're getting into, **Alyssa**?"

"I don't give a fuck." She said smiling and kissing him again. She pulled away for a second to add,

"And the name's DeCardo." She winked at him and he smiled a dazzling smile, his blue eyes twinkling in the glow of the moonlight and the rain that was beginning to slow.

"What about Blink?" he asked.

"I think Blink knew this was going to happen." She said. "He'll have to understand, but I'm not worried about him."

"Are you worried about my reputation with girls?"

"If you can promise me that I don't have to be, then I trust you."

He loosened his grip on her for a moment, saying,

"Look, I gotta be honest. I promise that as long as you're around, no other girls will get in the way. You don't have to worry about that at all. Trust me. But I still gotta be the Brooklyn Leader, and that comes with a rep and responsibilities, yah know? I'm still gonna be a jerk. To everyone, and maybe even sometimes to you."

He waited for her to leave or get mad, but instead, she looked up at him and said,

"I wouldn't love you if you changed, Mr. Conlon."

They kissed for a while longer, but soon Spot said,

"So are you staying?" He looked hopeful.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked.

"Look, DeCardo, you got enough love-dovey outta me for one night. Are you staying in Brooklyn…with me…or not?"

"Well," she said, teasing "…I've always liked being a Brooklyn newsie. I met some of the cutest and nice boys here…"

"DeCardo…"

"Conlon…" They laughed. Alyssa looked up at the sky, and then back down at him and said,

"Let's get the hell inside." They kissed one more passionate kiss, then walked together to the lodging building.

Alyssaa didn't know where things would go from here, but right now she didn't care.

Spot Conlon told her he loved her, 3 words she would never have expected to hear out of him.

She knew she loved him, so she was ready for whatever the hell this would throw at her. He said he wouldnt' break her heart, and for some reason, she trusted him. They went inside, and she didn't care what anyone said to her. On the way up the stairs, she thought,

_Things are gonna get... crazy now. _

_And I can't wait :)_

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long.**

**Hell, sorry it IS so long haha. But this is the end! SO PLEASE TALK TO ME! :D**

**I hope you like it. If you don't, review or message me and I'll change it.**

**Right now I'm not sure if I love it, but R&R and let me know!!**

**Don't worry, I got another story in the works, so keep your eye out for the Spunkyy7 story! :D**

**It's on its way, but give me feedback in the meantime.**

**I'm not planning on a sequel to this one, but anything's possible.**

**Thanks, you guys are great! Love yah! –Spunkyy7**


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